James Hamilton rises to object, “if oil prices were lower, the world would want to consume more than is currently being produced.” Hamilton examines what the quantity demanded might be at lower prices and concludes we’d need about an additional 15 million barrels a day in supply to meet consumer demand at oil prices of a decade ago.

So the higher price is encouraging some consumers to reduce their consumption while urging suppliers to increase, if they can, the amount of oil they bring to the market.